The Stages of Grief
by PhantomWriterAnon
Summary: BBRAE. It's the night before Christmas, and Beast Boy has just died in Raven's arms. Incomplete. Please Review!


"Gar..." Raven's voice faltered as she slowly descended into the rubble of what had once been the museum foyer, her violet eyes trained on the man whose body lay broken beneath one of the ornate marble columns that had collapsed amidst the explosion.

"H-Hey mama..." his brief response was followed by a pained gasp, and a rattling cough that told of blood pooling at the bottom of his lungs. Raven flinched.

"Don't talk, you need to conserve your energy. I'll have you out in a minute." But that was easier said than done. The column, while undoubtedly crushing her lover, was also keeping a decent amount of rubble from tumbling down and burying him alive.

And to make matters worse, Garfield wouldn't stop _talking_. "R-Rae... you g-gotta listen... to m-me..."

There was a puddle of blood, so dark it was almost black, pooling beneath his left leg. The leg itself was badly broken, the pinkish-white of bone peeking out from ruined skin. "Just do yourself a favor and _shut up_ for once and let me save you, you idiot."

Garfield swallowed hard, "Y-You're not gonna be able t-to save m-me, Rae."

"Don't talk nonsense, Garfield. Just give me a second to think and -,"

"I'm d-dying, Rae." He said softly, but his tone left no room for argument. "I know t-that I a-am."

Raven felt an unfamiliar panic settle into her bones, and it took her a few seconds to realize it was not her own. Garfield might've known that he was dying, but admitting it out loud made it real - trapped underneath a column and bleeding heavily, he was forced to look death in the eye. At only twenty-two years old, he was going to die. And he was absolutely _terrified_.

And it made her so _mad_. If he hadn't been so _reckless_ , if he'd just waited for Robin to come up with a plan, he wouldn't have rushed into the museum with twenty seconds left on a bomb that had enough power to level half of Jump City just to save a baby that turned out to be one of Gizmo's gadgets. And now he was trapped underneath two hundred pounds of rubble and the other Titans were too far away and his onslaught of emotions was fading much too fast and...

"R-Rae..." he began coughing again, his hazy jade eyes slowly falling closed. "C'mere a second, w-would ya?"

Against her better judgement, Raven floated over and took the injured man's hand. "I'm going to get you out of here, Gar. Everything's going to be alright."

He began to wheeze, each breath clearly a struggle. The column crushing his chest glowed black as Raven lifted it as high as she dared. "T-Thanks, mama. Look... I know I d-don't tell you e-enough how much I-I l-love you." He coughed, dark red blood spilling over his chapped lips. "But I do. Y-You and Sephie... y-you're my life."

"Don't do this..." she whispered, "please..."

"T-That's why I... why I rushed into t-the building." He continued, ignoring her protests. "I d-didn't w-want to think of... of another f-family losing t-their precious b-baby." He squeezed her hand as tight as he could, "You'll t-tell her h-her Daddy loves h-her, w-won't you?"

Raven nodded, feeling tears burn hot in the corners of her eyes. "I'll tell her. Every day."

"I'm n-not sorry f-for what I d-did." He slurred, his eyes finally falling closed. "I o-only regret that it h-hurt you." He coughed weakly, and his breathing railing, "I'm sorry."

Raven felt all of her previous anger drain out of her, "Its okay, Gar... everything's going to be okay..."

"I love you. So much."

And then, with a final pained rasp, his hand released hers and fell to the floor. Jade eyes, hazy and unfocused, stared at her dispassionately. Eyes that had always been brimming with unbridled emotion, whether it be love when he looked upon Raven and their daughter, battle lust as he faced down a particularly difficult opponent, or excitement as he made the team tofu eggs and bacon, were now flat. Raven reached out and with feather-light fingers closed his eyes forever.

And it was only then that she finally allowed the tears to fall.


End file.
